[ad_1]
By noon Sunday, when the 116th Congress had dissolved and the new 117th Congress was being sworn in, the longtime San Francisco Democrat was back as a regular member, House rules, and leadership structure they were reestablished as they do after each biennial electoral cycle.
Three hours later, around 3 p.m. on the East Coast, a small Democratic majority in the House of Representatives voted for Pelosi as Speaker of the House for the second consecutive term, her fourth overall.
“I am enormously grateful for the trust that members have placed in me,” she wrote in a letter to her Democratic group on Sunday.
Pelosi expressed confidence ahead of the day that Sunday’s election for president “would show a united Democratic Caucus ready to meet the challenges ahead,” including ratifying Joe Biden’s November Electoral College victory and continuing to pass legislation to handle the current Covid crisis.
This is apparently Pelosi’s last term at the top of the House Democratic totem. He indicated after the election results began to crystallize in November that he intends to fulfill his 2018 promise to resign from his leadership position at the end of the next Congress in 2023.
The resignation of the California congresswoman would spell the end of a 20-year reign as the highest-ranking Democrat in the House.
Pelosi replaced former Congressman Dick Gephardt as the House Democratic leader in 2003.
A thin margin
She faced no formal opposition within her own party for the speaker’s gavel this year, although a handful of moderates and progressives declined to vote for her on Sunday, rather than simply voting “present.”
One of those members is Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, who won a second term by 4 percentage points in Michigan’s 8th district. Donald Trump outscored the Slotkin district over President-elect Joe Biden, 50-49 percent.
“I am not endorsing the Speaker. I will vote present, because no one showed up to compete against her. It is a commitment I made in March 2018 before I was elected, ”Ms. Slotkin explained to reporters on Capitol Hill Sunday.
Ms. Slotkin is one of a small group of moderate Democratic congressmen in changing districts, including Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Jared Golden of Maine, whose opposition to the Pelosi party administration has become a central aspect of her public images. to help survive in hostile political terrain. .
Those Democrats’ opposition to Pelosi had more consequences for this year’s vote than it did last year, with the party’s majority narrowed to a single digit margin over Republicans in the 2020 election. Pelosi could afford nothing more than a handful of defectors voting “present” (or for Democrats other than Pelosi) Sunday to keep the deck.
“I’ve talked a lot about the need for more leaders from the Midwest, people who represent areas like where I’m from. And I also think it’s important to train the next generation of leaders … as a healthy habit of building the bank. So I was up front with her. We had a one-on-one conversation right after the election, just as we did in 2018. And I am going to vote to fulfill that commitment to my district, ”Ms. Slotkin said Sunday.
Hard-earned support
With less leeway this time, Pelosi managed to win back some longtime Democrats who didn’t vote for her in 2018. Congressman Jim Cooper of Tennessee and Kurt Schrader of Oregon voted for Pelosi on Sunday after snubbing her at first. of the last Congress.
The speaker also managed to capture some crucial votes from members who had refused to raise their hands heading into Sunday. In particular, he split the votes among the “Squad” of progressive youth of color that includes Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and others.
New York’s first-year Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who appears to have joined the “Squad” – cast an early vote for Ms. Pelosi on Sunday. So did Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, and Congressmen Rashida Tlaib from Michigan and Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts.
Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, another first-year progressive supported by the left-wing Justice Democrats, did not.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was second in the race for the speaker’s seat. The California Republican has cemented his position at first in the House Republican pecking order for the second consecutive term after former Wisconsin President Paul Ryan retired in 2019.
Covid drama
Although Ms. Pelosi was almost certain of winning the speaker’s seat on Sunday, there was nonetheless some drama on the House floor before the vote.
Ms Pelosi had installed a plexiglass box so that members who had recently been diagnosed with Covid could cast their votes by voice in person.
That allowed Wisconsin Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore, who tested positive for Covid on Dec. 28, to vote for Pelosi. Ms. Moore tweeted Sunday that she had received medical clearance to go back to work in person.
Last year, the Democratic-controlled House offered members the opportunity to vote remotely by proxy to mitigate the possible spread of Covid on Capitol Hill. But when a session of Congress expires every two years, the new body must vote on the new sets of rules that govern procedures in each chamber. To vote on Sunday, members had to do so in person.
Republicans initially raised objections to the Plexiglass setup, saying it was a bare play by Pelosi to maintain her grip on the speaker’s deck while putting members in danger of exposing themselves to other people who may be contagious with Covid.
“Pelosi is putting public health at risk to stay in power,” Colorado Republican Congressman Ken Buck tweeted Sunday.
But the treating physician at the Capitol, Dr. Brian Monahan, had previously approved Pelosi’s plan.
“Under the direction of the Office of the Physician Assistant and the House Sergeant at Arms, a secure enclosure has been erected in Gallery 4 of the House Chamber to allow members who are in quarantine status to carry out their duties. constitutional laws, “Dr. Monahan said in a statement before Sunday’s vote.
“Under federal guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), essential workers, to ensure the continuity of operations of essential functions, can continue to work after possible exposure to COVID-19 provided they remain asymptomatic and extra precautions are taken to protect them and the community. The greatest possible safeguards have been put in place, including separate waiting facilities for any Member using Gallery 4. This step will only be necessary until proxy voting resumes as an option for affected members, ”said the doctor.
Earlier in the day, two Republican freshmen students, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia, were denied access to the House floor after refusing to wear masks.
Later, Ms. Greene entered the House floor and voted for McCarthy without a mask before putting one on her chin, without covering her nose or mouth.
[ad_2]
